Film developing rack



April 8, 1952 J. sTolBER 2,592,354

FILM DEVELOPING RACK Filed sept. 18, '1947 JOSEPH STOIBER I N VEN TQRWww@ BY@ ATTRNEYS Patented Apr. 8, 1952 FILM DEVELOPING Raon JosephStoiber, Rochester, N. Y., assignor to Eastman Kodak (inumana.

poration of New Jersey Application september 1s, 1947, seriarNo. 774,777

The present invention relates to a photographic film developingapparatus, and more particularly to a film developing or processing rackadapted for use in developing or processing strips of photographic film.

The invention has as its principal object the provision of a rack formedwith adjustable film supporting members which may be positionedselectively to support films of different widths.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of iilmsupporting members which may be readily adjusted in width to suit thewidth of the particular nlm being used, and, when adjusted, are securelyheld inposition, yet may be easily moved to vary the spacing thereof foruse with a film of another width.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of adjustable filmsupporting members which are simple in construction, rugged, easy andquick to adjust, releasably retained in adjusted position. and highlyeffective in use.

To these and other ends, the invention resides l in certain improvementsand' combinations of parts, all` as will be hereinafter more fully de-v12 Claims.. (Cl. 242-77) Fig. 1 is" a iront elevational view ofa'photographic lm developing rack, showingthe relation thereto of thetwo-part iilm supporting members constructed in accordance vwith thepresent invention Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the rack illustrated inFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a bottom or inner view of a. pair of the lm supporting partswhich form one of the iilmsupporting members, showing thearrangement'zfor xng one of the parts to the rack and the positioningmeans for the other part;

Fig. 4 is a side view of the parts illustrated in Fig. 3, adjusted forone width ofi-ihn; and

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view through the flxed part ofvone ofthe supporting members is formedv orfany suitable material,preferably'metal rods. to.provide a hollow rectangular frame having-a ytopv rail II, a bottom rail I2- andopposite side. rails I3 andv I4.. Thetop and bottom railshaveslidably mounted thereon clips I5 whichmaybe-.55?

l ochester, N. Y., a corsecured to the ends oi' the nlm strip IG whenthe latter is wound in position over the nlm supporting members, to behereinafter more fully described. The side rails may also be providedwith similar fixed clips II which are adapted to cooperateA with theadjustable clips I5 when shorter lengths of iilm are to be mounted onthe rack.

The intermediate portion I9 of the nlm strip I6 is wound or threaded inspiral relation over a plurality of film supporting members, generallyindicated by the numeral 20, and mounted on the side rails I3 and I4, asclearly illustrated in Fig. 1. Each of the members 20 is formed of twoidentical shaped parts 2I and 22, the former being fixed on the siderails I3 and I4 and the latter being slidable thereon, in a manner to beshown in Fig. 4. A substantially semi-cylindrical film-engaging portion25 is'v formed integral with' and extends outwardly from the boss andterminates in a ange 26. When the'parts 2|' and 22 have been adjusted,as will be later described. to space the parts in accordance with thewidth.

of the particular film used, the marginal edges of the iilm I6 will besupported on the portions 25 while the anges -26 will engage the edgesof the strip I6 to retain the latter in a lateral position on the parts2| and 22, as will be readily apparent from an inspection of Fig. l. Theflanges 26 and supporting parts 25 are formed with projecting ribs 21which serves to support and spacey the greater portion of the fihn stripfrom the portions 25 and nanges 26 to permit the free passage of thetreating solution over the surfaces of the parts of the iilm onthesupporting members, all of which will be readily apparent from aninspection of the drawings.

In order that the rack maybeused with several different iilm widths, forexample, 35-mm..

i5-mm., 50-mm., 60-mm. and 'I0-mm. films, the

parts 2| and 22 are so mounted on the side railsv I3 and I 4 that theymay be moved relative to each other to vary the spacing betweenthepartsA 25 and flanges 2B to suit the particular film width being.processed. Obviously, the spacing between the parts willbe different forthe Adifferent iilms.

Allhile it iscontem'plated that'such spacing-may screws 3|. a plate 32of spring material which` overlies the side 28 of the side rail. Thisplate is provided with a formed-up tongue or lug 33 which extends into aregistering opening 29. to.

xedly mount part 2| on the side rail. Thus each part 2| of each filmsupporting member 20 is secured in fixed relation on therespectivesiderail, as clearly shown in Figs. 3and 5.

The necessary variation in spacing between the parts 2| and 22 issecured by slidably mounting the part 22 on the side rails so that saidpart 22 can'be moved toward or away from the fixed part 2|. Thisslidable connection is provided by mounting on the inner face 34 of thepart 22, by screws 35, a spring'plate` 36 which overlies and engages theface 28 of the side rail. Thus the part 22 and its plate 36 engageopposite sides` or faces of the side rail to provide a slidableconnection between the movable part 22 and the side rail.

In'order that the movable part may be quickly and easily moved to itsposition of adjustment. and also securely retained in said position, thepresent invention provides a series of cooperating click stop members onthe side rails and the movable part 22. In the preferred embodiment,these click stops comprise a series of spaced spherical recesses 31formed in the face 28 of the side rail, and an inwardly-extendingsphericalnib or protuberance 38'carried by the plate 36 of each part 22and adapted to engagefselectively in one of the recesses 31, both toposition the part 22 and to hold the latter releasably in its adjustedposition. Thus when the part 22 has been movedto one of its positionsofV adjustment, the protuberance 38- will register with one of therecesses 31 and will movetherein under the action of the spring plate36; The recesses 31 are so spaced that theengagement of the protuberance38 therein will properly space the parts 2|'and 22 for` theparticularlm. For example, the engagement'of the protuberance in the lower recess,Fig. 3,.will'space the parts 2| and 22 for 35-mm. film,. while theengagement in the next recess will space the parts for l-mm. film. Thesucceeding recesses are used for 50-mm., (S0-mm., and 'Z0-mm.lms'respectively.

Thus, by means of the click stops, the part 22A may be quickly andeasily moved to its proper position, and when so positioned is securelyheld; However, when a film of a different width is torbe processed, itis merely necessary to shift the mem-'- ber 22 to'bringftheprotuberance38 into cooperatingrelation with the proper recess 31. In order that theoperator may readily distinguish the' movable part 22from the fixed part2|, the parts are preferably differently colored. For example,

the fixed part 2|` may becolored blue, while the adjustable or movablepart 22 may be colored yellow. Obviously any other suitable colorarrangement may be used. While each of the side rails I3: and. I4 may beformed of one piece of material and the openings 29 for the tongue 33and therrecesses31 for, theprotuberancev 38 for-medi direotly'therein,formanufacturingpurposes itis.-

4 desirable to form the openings and recesses in a separate piece whichis then secured to the inner surface of each side rail. Such two-partconstruction is clearly indicated in Figs. 1 and 5.

The present invention thus provides a developing or processing rackadapted for use with films of different widths. To secure this result,adjustable lm supporting members are provided. These-members may bereadily and quickly adjusted to provide the desired spacing of theparticular film and are then securely held in adjusted position untilpositively moved to vary the spacing for a lm of a different width. Theparts ara-simple in construction, rugged, easy to operate, and highlyVeffective in operation.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it isV to beunderstood that the inventive idea may be carried out in a numberofways. This application is, therefore, not to be limited to the precisedetails described, but is intended to cover all variations andmodifications thereof fallingwithinthe scope of the appended claims.

I-claim:

1. In a film-developing rack, the combination with a frame, of aplurality of separately adjustable nlm-supporting members spacedlaterally and longitudinally on said: frame and overwhich a lm strip isadapted to be threaded, each of said members-comprisingparts whichsupport-the stripv only ata longitudinal point intermediate its ends andwhich arerelatively adjustable on said-frames to vary the-spacingbetweenthe parts to accommodate iilmstripsof different widthsi 2. In afilm-developing rack, thecombination with a frame. of aA plurality ofseparatelmsupporting members carried'v byl said frame and over which a'lrn stripis adapted to bethreaded independently of said frame so thatthe lmis supported solely on` said' members, each of said memberscomprising a partiixed on said frame" andr apart movable on said-framerelative to the fixed part to support said strip only at a longiftudinalpointV intermediate-its ends. said movable part being positionableto'vary the spacing be4 tween said parts.- to'accommodate filmsofdifferent widths.

3. In a film-developing rack,A the combination with a frame formed withspaced rails, of a. pluA rality of film-supporting members carriedby andspacedalongeach of said siderails and over which a lm strip is adaptedto be threaded, eachofr said members comprising two parts to supportsaid strip intermediate its ends, means for' secur ing one of said partsin-flxed position onv an ad'- J'acent side rail, the other: of saidparts being;

movable-on said adjacentrail.andrelativeto said xedpart to adjust thespacing between said' parts to adapt saidmember toqiilm strips ofdifferent widths.

4. In a film-developing rack. the. combination.

with arectangularopenframel having spaced side rails'V of. a. pluralityof film-supporting members carried'by and spaced alongl each of saidsiderails and. over` which a film strip is adapted tof be threaded, eachof! said members comprising two parts to supportv saidstripintermediateits ends,

saidfmembersfor use with-film strips=of different' 755 widths.

5. In a nlm-developing rack, the combination with a frame, of aplurality of film-supporting members carried by said frame and overwhich a lm strip is adapted to be threaded, each of said memberscomprising two parts, means including a spring clip for securing one ofsaid parts in xed position on said frame, and means for mounting theother of said parts for sliding movement on said frame so that saidother part may be adjusted relative to said one part to vary the spacingtherebetween to adapt said members for use with lms of different widths.

6. In a nlm-developing rack, the combination with a frame, of aplurality of film-supporting members carried by said frame and overwhich a film strip is adapted to be threaded, each of said memberscomprising two parts, means including a spring clip for securing one ofsaid parts in xed position on said frame, means for mounting the otherof said parts for sliding movement on said frame so that said other partmay be adjusted relative to said one part to vary the spacingtherebetween to adapt said members for use with films of differentwidths, and means for retaining said other member in its adjustedposition.

7. In a lm-developing rack, the combination with a frame, of a pluralityof film-supporting members carried by said frame and over which a filmstrip is adapted to be threaded, each of said members comprising twoparts to engage and support the strip intermediate its ends, meansincluding a spring clip for securing one of said parts in fixed positionon said frame, means for mounting the other of said parts for slidingmovement on said frame so that said other part may be adjusted relativeto said one part to vary the spacing therebetween to adapt said membersfor use with lms of different widths, and cooperating means on saidframe and said adjustable member for retaining the latter selectively inadjusted position.

8. In a lm-developing rack, the combination with a frame, of a pluralityof film-supporting members carried by said frame and over which a filmstrip is adapted to be threaded, each of said members comprising twoparts to engage and support the strip intermediate its ends, said framebeing provided with a series of apertures, one of each of said partshaving a spring clip, a tongue formed on said clip and extending intoone of said apertures to retain said one part in xed relation on saidframe, and means for mounting the other of said parts for slidingmovement on said frame so that the spacing between said parts may beadjusted to adapt the members to lms of dierent widths.

9. In a nlm-developing rack, the combination with a frame, of aplurality of hlm-supporting members carried by said frame and over whicha lm strip is adapted to be threaded, each of said members comprisingtwo parts, said frame being provided with a series of apertures, one ofeach of said parts having a spring clip, a tongue formed on said clipand extending into one of said apertures to retain said one part in xedrelation on said frame, means for slidably mounting said other part onsaid frame for varying the spacing between said parts to suit saidmember to lms of different widths, and means for retaining said slidablepart in adjusted position.

10. In a nlm-developing rack, the combination with a frame, of aplurality of film-supporting members carried by said frame and overwhich a lm strip is adapted to be threaded, each of said memberscomprising two parts, said frame being provided with a series ofapertures, one of each of said parts having a spring clip, a tongueformed on said clip and extending into one of said apertures to retainsaid one part in xed relation on said frame, means for slidably mountingsaid other part on said frame for varying the spacing between said partsto suit said member to films of different widths, a series of recessesformed in said frame, a spring member carried by said other part, and aprotuberance formed on said spring member and adapted to engageselectively in one of said recesses to retain said other part releasablyin adjusted position.

11. In a film-developing rack, the combination with a hollow rectangularframe, of a plurality of nlm-supporting members carried by said frameand over which a film strip is adapted to lbe threaded, each of saidmembers comprising a pair of semi-cylindrical parts mounted on saidframe, means for anchoring one of said parts in xed relation on saidframe, means for slidably mounting the other part on said frame foraxial movement relative to said xed part to vary the spacingtherebetween to adapt said members for use with lms of diierent widths,and cooperating click-stop members on said frame and slidable member forretaining the latter releasably in adjusted position.

12. In a nlm-developing rack, the combination with a hollow rectangularframe, of a plurality of lm-supporting members carried by said frame andover which a film strip is adapted to be threaded, each of said memberscomprising a semi-cylindrical element supported on said frame, saidelement being split radially to provide a pair of identicalsemi-cylindrical nlm-supporting parts, a marginal flange carried by eachof said parts to provide a lateral guide for said strip, means forsecuring one of said parts in fixed relation on said frame, means formounting the other part slidably on said frame so that said parts may bemoved relatively to vary the spacing therebetween to support films ofdifferent widths, and cooperating parts on said other part and saidframe for retaining said other part releasably in a selected position ofadjustment.

JOSEPH S'IOIBER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,034,467 Kieser Aug. 6, 19121,553,903 LefebVI'B Sept. 15, 1925 2,341,666 Spota Feb. 15, 19442,397,010 Jacobson Mar. 19, 1946

